I’ve seen some excitement blow up on a few rare birds I’ve chased but never anything like this. On a Redwood Region Ornithological Society Pelagic we saw a bird that has never been seen north of Costa Rica. It came up our wake and was first called out as a Laysan Albatross, however, as each moment passed and irregularities were pointed out, the excitement on the boat crescendoed into complete and utter pandemonium. The first ever sighting of a Waved Albatross in the North Pacific Ocean! After the initial explosion of excitement, back slapping, high fives and hugs our boat got down to the task of documenting the sighting. Fortunately, the bird stayed with us for a good 45 minutes. Thousands of photos were taken, I even managed a few like the one above. If you'd like to see more images taken by some excellent photographers, visit the link below to the official Ebird report of the Redwood Region Ornithological Society here:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S277907962
A few details: Waved Albatross is considered critically endangered, they nest on the Galapagos and forage in the Humboldt Current off the coast of Peru. This is the first ever ABA record for this bird. How did it find its way here? God only knows. All I can really say is, “WOW!”
This summer I made a concerted effort to add more seabirds to my ongoing life list. I joined three different trips, two out of Bodega Bay with the Redwood Region Ornithological Society, and one with Noyo Pelagics out of Fort Bragg. All three of these trips had many outstanding birders with extensive knowledge of Pelagic species as well as several up-and-coming birders of note whose sharp eyes didn't miss a thing. These kinds of trips used to be difficult for me as I was prone to the onset of seasickness in all but the calmest of waters. Many people have had success with the use of Scopolamine patches so a few years ago I started using them and I haven't had a problem since. By any measure it was a successful summer. On each of my three trips I was able to add to my life list. The first trip came on July 15th and was out of Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg. On this trip I added two Storm Petrels, Leach's and Least. The second was on August 24th out of Bodega Bay were three new species were seen, Script's Murrelet, Wilson's Storm Petrel, and Black Storm Petrel. Then the final trip of the season on October 5th where only one new species was added but man was it a special one.
I am now up to 589 ABA birds on my life list, slowly climbing to 600. I'm sure I will get there soon and then it will be time to set another goal to work towards. I do have to admit that one of the things I do enjoy about birding is the excitement of the chase. The experience of last Sunday took that to another level. You always go out hoping for something new but when we started our voyage none of us expected what turned up. It still gives me chills to think about. As I left the boat and walked towards the truck I hailed a visiting birder from the east coast who I had chatted with throughout the day, we said our goodbyes and he shook his head and just said, "Amazing, Amazing." It truly was that.
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